The executive office without a limit, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• On March 22, 2026, Narendra Modi completed 8,931 days as head of an elected government, surpassing Pawan Kumar Chamling's record.
• The article raises the question of why India's Constitution imposes no limit on how long an individual may hold executive power.
• The Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) has altered the relationship between the legislature and executive.
• The author suggests reforms to restore parliamentary accountability, such as exempting votes on confidence motions from the Tenth Schedule.

Detailed Insights:

• The Constituent Assembly, led by B.R. Ambedkar, believed daily assessment through mechanisms like no-confidence motions was sufficient, negating the need for term limits.
• The Fifty-Second Amendment (1985), which introduced the Tenth Schedule, disqualifies legislators for voting against party whips, impacting parliamentary accountability.
• Unlike India, countries like the United States, South Korea, Brazil, Colombia, and Indonesia impose presidential term limits.
• The absence of term limits, combined with a weakened parliamentary accountability due to the Tenth Schedule, poses structural risks to Indian democracy.
• India has a convention against a third presidential term, even though the President's role is largely ceremonial.
• Prolonged incumbency allows control over appointments, shaping the information environment, and calibrating policy for electoral benefit.
• Restoring the ability of legislators to vote on confidence motions without fear of disqualification could enhance accountability.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Tenth Schedule: A provision in the Indian Constitution that disqualifies legislators for defecting from their political party.
• No-Confidence Motion: A parliamentary procedure to remove a government by demonstrating a lack of majority support.
• Constitutional Convention: An unwritten rule that is consistently followed due to precedent, belief, and reason.